Bruce Babbitt’s Bad Habit

Bruce Babbitt, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, told some great big lies. He lied to Senator John McCain and the U.S. Senate. He lied about his 1995 decision to reject three Wisconsin Chippewa Indian tribes’ casino applications in exchange for Clinton Democratic campaign contributions.

We know of Bruce Babbitt’s lies because he finally admitted that he told these lies. He even apologized to Senator John McCain for his lies. The Washington Post confirmed Babbitt’s lies in an article that appeared just last week, on 2 September (“White House Urged Babbitt’s Apology”).

Of course, the Washington Post did not explicitly state that Mr. Babbitt lied. Naturally, in such a professional and highly sophisticated publication like the Washington Post, there was no mention of Mr. Babbitt’s “lies.” That is, the Washington Post never used the word “lie” to characterize Bruce Babbitt’s prevarication. I believe they used the word “misled” instead–a much kinder, gentler word, a veritable euphemism.

Still, we know that Interior Secretary Babbitt is more than capable of deliberately telling lies. We finally have indisputable proof that he is, well, some kind of a liar, basically.
In fact, it should not surprise us at all if he lied about America’s highly destructive forest fires.

One thing the Washington Post needs to further expose–which we already know–is Babbitt’s lies concerning the CNMI. In his last CNMI testimony before the U.S. Congress, Mr. Babbitt repeatedly lied about our labor conditions.

Babbitt also allowed his Interior Department’s Insular Affairs Office to lie about the CNMI. He welcomed the hateful lies of his subordinates, including Al Stayman, David North, and Ferdinand “Danny” Aranza, who falsely equated our local immigration system to a broken down old Ford Pinto jalopy.

When Al Stayman lied about forced abortions, his boss Bruce Babbitt cheerfully went along with the vicious lie. He never demanded any solid proof. Any smear that advanced the interests of his Democratic campaign-contributing labor unions friends was perfectly acceptable to Mr. Babbitt. In fact, he publicly praised and decorated Allen Stayman for his lies–for lying above and beyond the call of duty.

And When David North told lies and violated the Hatch Act, Mr. Babbitt again had not the slightest qualm with his subordinate. No harsh reprimand or condemnation was ever issued.
Apparently, lying is an indispensable part of the Clinton administration, particularly with Mr. Babbitt. Call it a bad Babbitt habit.